


all in good time

by belikebumblebee



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-21 05:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belikebumblebee/pseuds/belikebumblebee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're aware that this must come as a... surprise for you" -  you and everyone else in this godforsaken town, Emma thinks - "and if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They sit him down in Regina's living room, the two of them on the couch while he climbs into the armchair, his feet not quite touching the ground (yet).  
"So", he says, and Emma can see the small child in his expectant eyes and the way he takes a sip of his cranberry juice. "What did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
They share a look, and Regina's eyes say that she's a little nauseated. It doesn't make any sense, this is their kid, why are they so nervous? Emma sighs. It's _because_ he's their kid.  
  
"Henry... your mother and I...", she hesitates, doesn't know how to phrase this properly. Shit, Henry must think they've decided to send him to boarding school. Regina sets her glass down resolutely and steps in for her. _Here goes nothing_ , Emma thinks, just as Regina says: "Miss Swan - _Emma_ \- and I have begun a relationship."  
She's being Madame Mayor right now, because that's the only way she knows how to be calm in this moment. Hence the slip of the tongue.  
They can practically hear the click in Henry's brain when he processes what they mean to tell him.  
  
" _What?!_ " He stares at them, complete and utter disbelief in his face. "Your juice, Henry.", Regina warns and he looks down on his lap where he just almost spilled the contents of his glass all over his pants. He sets it down and finally settles his gaze on Emma.  
  
" _You_ and _my mom_?!"  
"Jeez, thanks. What am I, the mail man?", Emma murmurs. Regina leans towards Henry,  elbows propped up on her knees and her hands clasped together.  
"We're aware that this must come as a... surprise for you" -  _you and everyone else in this godforsaken town_ , Emma thinks - "and if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them."  
She sounds like a parental guide book, but oh well. Henry lets out the air in his lungs and leans back into his arm chair.  
  
"Yeah... I mean.. are you guys... in love?"  
Happy to answer any questions. Except maybe for that one.  
  
Emma looks over at Regina, who has gone completely rigid with a slightly horrified look on her face. Like a deer in the headlights. A deer with a lot of self-control. For a deer.  
Oh yes, this is going so, so well.  
  
"We're still working on talking about that, but yeah, kid, I guess we are."  
  
Henry looks taken aback.  
  
"You guess? And - w-what is there to talk about? Do you love each other or not?"  
  
There is that tiny stutter again, the one he does when he's upset. Regina's voice is low and a little tired.  
  
"Henry, it's not always that simple."  
  
"It is for David and Snow...", he says and makes a gesture towards the general direction of  where the apartment is. Emma can feel Regina sink back into the couch and combs her hair with her hands.  
  
"Yes. But they are _literally_ a fairytale couple, and a relationship often means a lot more than just being in love with one another."  
  
"Why?"  
 __  
Because, Henry. Roll with the punches. She doesn't say that, of course.  
  
"Love doesn't magically fix everything, you know?"  
  
"But I thought it's the most powerful magic of all."  
  
Henry is being a very annoying mixture of smart and slow on the uptake right now and Emma would really love for Regina to help her out with this, but she appears to still be gnawing on his comment regarding the Charmings. Emma can practically hear the wheels turn in that brilliant moronic head of hers. She sighs (again).  
  
"It is. But it doesn't always work in the same ways. It's not always 'true love's kiss and I'll no longer be the Dark One' and 'true love's kiss and you're no longer in a coma'. There are comas that even true love can't do anything about, no matter how much canoodling is going on. And there are", Emma takes a deep breath mid-sentence because man does she not want to have this conversation with her eleven year old son, "kisses that don't require a coma for them to be about true love. You understand?"  
  
Henry shrugs and nods and Emma continues. "Back when your mom was...", she tries to come up with a word other than 'ethically challenged' to avoid the word 'evil', "...struggling with the whole vengeance thing, did you love her?"  
  
He has the nerve to roll his eyes at her. "Of course, but she's my _mom_."  
  
Regina smiles warmly at him. "But you didn't feel like showing it much, now did you?"  
  
A conscious-stricken expression on his face, he tries to defend himself. "You were - you know -"  
  
"I know. But that is exactly what Emma means to explain. Sometimes, relationships a little complicated."  
  
"Or a lot complicated. Sometimes the obstacle people have to overcome is a curse, and sometimes it's the past.", Emma adds. "But we're working on it. We're figuring it out. Okay? You don't have to worry about that."  
  
Henry scratches his head and when his hand sinks down again, he has a cow lick.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Okay?" Regina holds out her hand and he gets up. She pulls him into a tight hug and Emma gives him her most encouraging smile, which he returns with his face resting on Regina's shoulder.  
  
"Okay."  
  
For now. 


	2. Chapter 2

She doesn't tell her parents separately because she really just wants to get it over with.   
  
They listen to her explanation (during which David keeps nodding to the point where it's worrying) and to their credit, they don't look at her like her head just exploded when she ends with "... and so Regina and I - are - kind of - well - a couple".   
  
There's a moment of silence. David takes a deep breath and goes - "Okay. It's not because she's a woman, but-" and Emma stops him right there. "If you have to say it, it's definitely at least partly because she's a woman."  
  
"Point taken." He gives a pained little laugh, and Emma decides to cut him some slack - he did basically grow up in the middle ages, after all. He's probably allowed to need some time of adjustment.  
  
"You were saying?"  
  
"Emma, we know she's Henry's other mother and that she's been trying to be a better person, but she's still the Evil Queen."  
  
She purses her lips and nods. "Yeah... I really think you should reconsider your view on 'good' and 'evil'."  
  
"She tried kill us all on more than one occasion and she took you away from us!"  
  
"And I tried to take away Henry from her! Do you really think that's any different? It isn't: whatever the reasons, a parent has their kid taken away from them. And speaking of evil, I think your wife can tell you all about how it feels to slip and fall because you constantly live in fear and pain."  
  
Snow winces and Emma quickly continues. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Snow, I'm really over the whole judging-and-accusing-thing. You did what you did because awful stuff happened to you and you wanted your family to be safe. Regina did what she did because even more awful stuff happened to her and she wanted..." Emma trails off and rubs at her face. "I don't know. I think she wanted to get back at the people who hurt her, sure. I mean her freaking boyfriend was killed right in front of her face and then she was married off to some old dude when she was sixteen."   
  
She gravely looks up at her parents.  
  
"You don't even wanna know where I was when I was sixteen, but it was a whole fucking lot better than an arranged marriage."   
  
Snow's hand darts out to clasp around hers and Emma knows that she feels horrible about all the things they couldn't protect her from. She smiles at her.   
  
"I'm just saying she's more than just the Evil Queen. I think she also wanted people to hurt so they would understand her. She wanted power so that they would take her seriously and stop treating her crap. That's a screwed up way of thinking, but that's how it is. Evil is made. And you of all people should know that."  
  
There are tears glistening in Snow's eyes, but her nod is that of a soldier and she won't have David put an arm around her shoulders.    
  
"The more people treat her as Regina, the more she can let go of being the Evil Queen."   
  
David leans back and looks at her thoughtfully. Snow, who hasn't said a single word so far, lets go of Emma's hand to smooth away nonexistent wrinkles in the table cloth.   
  
"I understand what you're saying.", she begins quietly, and it sounds like she's choosing every word deliberately. "But treating her as Regina the best I can and trusting her with the heart of my daughter are two very separate things. I can and I want to give her the chance to be a part of our community, to be Henry's mother, to redeem herself. But being with you? The possibility that this is just a scheme to get back at us is there. How could I risk you?"  
  
Circles. They're running in them. Emma sighs and decides to just give them time.   
  
"I'm thirty years old. I'm think I'm plenty capable of making this decision." She gets up. "Besides - aren't you supposed to take leaps of faith for love of whatever?"


	3. Chapter 3

Regina supervises teeth brushing time and because she knows that Henry _hates_ being supervised, she pretends to restock the towel supply in the bathroom.  
  
"Mawm", Henry mumbles through a mouthful of foam.  
  
"Yes, dear."  
  
"Yuyulow ma?"  
  
She hides a smile behind the hair that falls over her face when she leans forward. "Excuse me?"  
  
Henry spits and repeats articulately: "Do you love Emma."  
  
Their eyes meet in the mirror and Regina bites her cheek. Henry's hand with the toothbrush comically hangs in the air; he notices and starts brushing again, his eyes still fixes on his mother.  
  
"Not as much as I love you", she finally offers, and her smile is small and hopes to get away with this. But Henry shrugs. "'hy nod?"  
Oh, that's easy. "Because I love you more than anything. You know that."  
  
He spits again and starts cleaning his toothbrush. "But you love her?"  
Regina sighs; he's not gonna let it go. As matter-of-factly as she can, she states her answer - "Yes."  
  
Henry gives her a grin that feels like a reward for her honesty and, after washing out his mouth, starts gargling _the Entertainer_ until he's out of breath.  
  
"C'mon, Henry. Bedtime."  
  
With an exasperated groan, he buries his wet face in the fresh towel she's offering him. Regina reaches out and ruffles up his hair.

  
  
"You know", Henry calls over to her as he gets under the covers, "I used to wish that there was someone." He speaks a little quieter when Regina appears in the door frame.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Sometimes I wondered", he shrugs his narrow shoulders, "you know. What it would be like to have two parents. I just thought it would be..."  
Fidgeting with the blanket, he trails off.  
  
"Would be what?", Regina asks softly.  
  
"When I was little I always thought it would be someone like Archie."  
  
Ah. She pushes the hair out of her face and comes all the way in. To be on eye level with Henry, she sits down on the edge of his bed. "As in,  a man?"  
  
"No!" Regina looks at him. "Okay, yes. But not only that."  
  
"All right. What else?"  
  
Henry won't look at her and shrugs again. "Someone a little quieter, I guess. Archie's pretty calm."  
  
"Mh. And you would have needed someone a little calmer."  
  
She tries not to let it get to her. _Get it together, Mills_ ,  a voice in her head says, and it sounds suspiciously like Emma. Henry looks up at her. "No... I just thought you might."  
  
"Well - do you think Emma is a poor match for us?"  
  
She says 'us' to remind him that this is not just about Emma and herself. In the beginning, there were Regina and Henry Mills.  
Her son thinks about it for a moment and then he tells her: "No. I mean she's my other mom, she's my family anyways. I just didn't expect... I just thought nothing... new would happen for a while now."  
  
"I know." Regina finds the bump in the blanket where Henry's foot is and squeezes it. "If anything worries or bothers you, or maybe if you just want to talk about it - you know where to find me. Or Emma."  
  
She lets the message sink in for a moment and then leans forward to kiss his forehead.  
  
"Lights out. It's a school night."


	4. Chapter 4

Snow looks up from her coupon clipping when the phone rings and the caller ID says "Mills Residence" (it used to be "Regina Mills", but Henry got bored one afternoon and changed it).   
  
David shrugs at her confused expression and picks up. "Hello?"   
  
"Hi David."   
  
"Henry!", Charming greets his grandson with a reassuring glance to Snow, lets her know that he sounds all right. "Shouldn't you be in bed, buddy?"   
  
"I _am_ in bed. I snuck downstairs while Mom was in the bathroom and got the phone."   
  
David chuckles. "Sneaky. Do you want to talk to your grandma?"   
  
Henry hesitates before he says: "Hm... I'm fine talking to you?"   
  
Ah. He looks over at his wife, who seems to be ready to take the phone from him. "A guy thing, then.", he says out loud; Snow smiles at him and goes back to her coupons. "What's on your mind?"   
  
"I can't sleep."   
  
"Mmh. Your mother talk to you?"   
  
"Both of them."   
  
David pinches his eyes shut for a second at his pointed tone - he walked right into that one.   
  
"Yeah. What do you think?"   
  
"I think I'm glad they get along."   
  
If it were that simple, he wouldn't have called. "But...", David tries to encourage.   
  
"But... I don't know. I'm really... I'm surprised."   
  
David rubs his eyes with his free hand. "You and me both, kiddo."   
  
"I didn't know they were gay, I mean Emma was with my dad,..."   
  
"Hm. Does it bother you?"   
  
A pause. "Does it bother _you_?"   
  
Of all the people he could have asked this question, it just had to be him. David sighs and then he figures, how many chances to be a good dad to his grown up child is he going to get?   
"No." He hesitates. "Well, it bothered me a little at first. But then I thought about it, and I realized that... there's no reason to be bothered. What difference does it make, really?"  
It's probably not exactly what Ellen Degeneres would have said (or his wife, for that matter), but damn, he's trying his best here.   
  
"I don't think it bothers me, either. "

Henry sounds a little absent when he answers, and David knows that he isn't done thinking about this. But maybe that takes time. Speaking of time... "Hey, bud. It's kind of late for a school night, don't you think? I'd say - sleep on it. We can talk about it some more tomorrow, if you want. Are we still up for the stables?"  
  
"Right on!", Henry affirms, and David snorts, wondering where he picked that up. "Good night, David. Tell Snow I said hi, okay?"  
  
"Will do. Good night."


	5. Chapter 5

The little table in the foyer is some kind of fancy wood with some kind of fancy finish and apparently, it does not like having keys dropped upon it. Emma remembers this in the very last second and puts her keys where they belong (according to Regina). She doesn't really understand what the point of a table next to the door is when you can't put your keys on it, but she's picking her battles.  
  
"Regina?", she calls, and strips out of her leather jacket (she doesn't drop it on the floor like she'd like to). Exhausted, she pulls her hair into a messy pony tail and is just about to turn towards the living room when Regina answers.   
  
"In here."  
  
Emma turns on her heel and heads for the kitchen to find the mistress of the house unloading the dish washer.  
  
"Hey", she greets and her fingers graze her hip when she passes her, as if by accident.   
  
"You look horrible.", Regina says, and the compassion in her voice is audible for those inclined to listen.   
  
"Long day." Emma opens the fridge, stares into it and closes it again. She can't concentrate on picking something.   
  
"I told you to take one step at a time", Regina returns, "why didn't you listen?" She reaches past Emma to open the fridge again, shoving a can of beer in her hands a moment later.   
  
"Thanks." Emma pops the tab and shrugs. "We had to tell Henry today. And if I hadn't told my parents today, too, I would have chickened out of it tomorrow." The beer is refreshingly cold, which explains Regina handing it to her. It's a gesture that means _I chilled this for you and now you are going to drink it_ , and that is definitely something Emma can appreciate. She smiles and leans against the counter.  
  
"They would have found out eventually, I suppose", Regina replies, "although I must say it's probably for the best you told them today. Henry's on the phone with your father right now. He thinks I don't know", she adds with a fond little smirk. 

Emma frowns. "Why is he talking to David?"

She gets a raised eyebrow in return. "While I do like to check up on my child, I don't make a habit of spying on him. But since he doesn't usually sneak around to make phone calls behind our backs, I just assumed he wanted to talk about us."  
  
"With David?", Emma scrunches up her face. "Mh, whatever. I'll ask Charming later, and if he said anything stupid I'll kick his ass."   
  
"Language."  
  
"Henry's upstairs, there's no way he heard that."  
  
"It's a matter of principle."  
  
Regina is done putting the dishes away and steps right into Emma's personal space. It's funny how that is still somewhat intimidating... but mostly encouraging.  
  
Emma leans a little bit forward, their noses almost touching. "I will ask Charming later. If he said anything stupid to Henry. I will kick... his... _ass_."   
  
Regina just rolls her eyes and turns away from her, starts wiping the (perfectly clean) cooktop. "You're sleeping at the apartment, then?"  
  
Emma takes a sip of her beer. "Yep."  
  
"Why don't you stay?" It sounds casual enough.   
  
"Sorry. Too tired for anything but sleep."   
  
A beat of silence. "You could sleep here."   
  
Emma just stares at Regina, who is still polishing. Regina, who made it rather clear that she doesn't do sleep overs.   
  
"That's. But -...why?"   
  
Regina drops the cloth on the counter and faces her, slightly amused at her incoherence.   
  
"Because, _Miss Swan_ ", she begins and loosely puts her arms around Emma's neck, "I don't see why not."  
  
Emma has a thing or two to say to that, but then Regina is _kissing_ her and she figures _oh, never mind._


End file.
